Chapters
1. What is the Incel Movement?
3. How does this affect the UK curriculum?
The “incel” movement is on the rise in the UK and has been making headlines in the media. The term “incel” is short for involuntary celibate. A movement based on this notion was initially formed online and is increasing in popularity. Members of this movement identify as being unable to find a romantic or sexual partner, despite wanting one.
The movement is driven by misogyny and has resulted in many dangerous attacks on women. As the dangers of movements like these continue to grow in the UK, the government has responded by making changes to the national curriculum. Teachers in England will be encouraged to educate students on topics such as sexism, extremism and terrorism in schools.
Keep on reading to find out how the curriculum will be impacted and what kids will learn.
What is the Incel Movement? ⚠️
The “incel” movement is composed of young men who express hatred towards women. Paradoxically, the term “incel” was first used by a woman. She was struggling to find love and created a website sharing her struggles. She had no idea that it would grow into such a dangerous and extreme online movement.
Members of the “incel” movement express extreme frustration and hatred towards women. Their anger is fuelled by their lack of success in finding sexual or romantic partners. The community is largely active online and is becoming more and more of a threat. The members of “incel” communities share their stories with one another and encourage hatred towards women. Some sections of the movement also actively advocate violence against women.
As a result, the movement has triggered a number of tragic attacks on women, in the UK and across the world. 💔
The “incel” movement is now being identified as a terrorist organisation by some authorities as it begins to pose more and more of a threat to public safety. 🚨
What are the dangers? ⚠️
The dangers of such an extreme and hate driven online community are already evident in the misogyny driven attacks on women. The members of the community all identify with the same dangerous objectives.
The movement is considered a form of extremism and has the potential to have an extremely harmful and dangerous influence on people, especially children and teenagers.
If your child is struggling with their self esteem or finding it difficult to connect with other people, they may seek out a community online that they can identify with. Kids often turn to social media for advice and to find like minded people. If a child is dealing with rejection or feelings of self-hatred, they are at risk of going online and talking to dangerous individuals that can have a negative influence on them. 💻
This is dangerous because children may initially feel that they have found a new network of support. With groups like “incel” it’s easy for kids to get sucked in as they talk to people that identify with their struggles. The conversations can very quickly become sinister and take a dark turn.
Children are extremely impressionable and unfortunately, can be influenced very easily. Dangerous things could happen if your child was to get involved with an extremist organisation. It’s more important than ever to know what your kids are up to online. 🖥️
How does this affect the UK curriculum? 📚
In response to an attack in the UK, the government has now identified the importance of teaching topics such as the dangers of extremism and misogyny in schools.
The government feels that schools have a responsibility to counteract the rise of these dangerous online communities. It is the hope that teachers will be able to achieve this through education and open discussion. 🗣️
The new curriculum will be flexible and open to interpretation. Teachers will be free to explore various topics within the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum within schools.
The National Education Union has previously identified the need for such topics to be added to the curriculum. They cite sexism and negative attitudes towards women as huge problems in UK schools. In order to prevent such negative attitudes from becoming dangerous, changes to the curriculum are being introduced.
The new curriculum will be implemented this year. Teachers will focus on teaching prevention and providing students with the right knowledge to make responsible decisions and act respectfully. 👬
Topics like the dangers of sexism and misogyny are cited as important even for primary school children. In fact, there have been discussions about adding these topics to the curriculum since 2018. The UK government has been criticized in the past for not paying enough attention to such issues.
An article from The Guardian also states:
“Schools, universities and local authorities also have a statutory duty to protect students from ‘radicalisation and extremist influences’, the government noted.”
While the new curriculum will focus on educating kids at school, there are also things you can do as a parent to help. Making sure your child stays safe online is super important. Furthermore, encourage open discussions about these topics. 💬
Your child might express resistance when it comes to talking about sex and relationships but it’s important that they know that they can come to you if there’s a problem. The danger of them seeking out communities online can lead to them being influenced by the wrong people. Make sure your child is aware of the dangers of such extreme communities and make online safety a top priority.
